


Angels Fall on Playgrounds

by kanoitrace



Series: When You Were Young [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Childhood Friends, Fluff, Gen, Kid Fic, Past Child Neglect, Toddlers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-01
Updated: 2014-11-15
Packaged: 2018-02-15 16:02:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2234982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kanoitrace/pseuds/kanoitrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean Winchester and his best friend Charlie Bradbury love playing make-believe, but Dean's father thinks it isn't healthy for Dean's only friend to be the little girl from down the street, so Dean takes it upon himself to make a brand new friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote kid!fic! Why, you ask? Because it's freaking adorable and I can. This is the start to a larger verse, which shall from here on out be dubbed the When You Were Young!verse. This particular fic will cover childhood through high school. The second installment... well, you shall just have to see.
> 
> Thank you to my beta PharoComics for the fantastic job she always does!
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural. I would be too tempted to write more schmoopy scenes like this if I did.

Never tell his dad, but Dean really likes playing make-believe with Charlie from down the street. They have epic adventures that leave their small little town in Kansas far behind, where Charlie is a queen and Dean is her knight (and there had been that one time Charlie made him be her handmaiden, and while he'd wrinkled his nose and complained, he hadn't actually minded it too much). And it never hurt that they were adventures far from his new, crying baby brother (not that he hates him, except maybe he kind of does).

But John is starting to get impatient, citing worries that Dean is going to become some kind of sissy boy if he continues to only have the one girl as a friend. And Mary is far too tired to argue (and for that, Dean blames Sam because he really never does stop crying). But the last thing Dean wants to do is disappoint his father, so he takes it upon himself to find a new friend, one that's a boy and his father will like.

When he tells Charlie of his plan, she turns it into another quest. They aren't looking for a friend, she says, but a prince instead. And so they venture far from the castle (Charlie's backyard) to the enchanted woods (the local park), and Dean finds it's much more fun this way. But then again, it's always more fun with Charlie.

Their quest is a bust. They find plenty of peasants, and even one evil sorcerer that they try to vanquish (Alistair from next door, two years older than them and nothing but a bully), but no prince.

When they return to Charlie's, they are both in trouble for wandering off (Charlie makes it no better by accusing her parents of crimes against the Throne when they send her to her room), and Dean is personally escorted home by Mrs. Bradbury so she can make sure his parents know what he did. And yet again, Charlie makes it no better by yelling after him to be brave and protect the kingdom from the traitors until the end (sometimes she takes the make-believe thing a little too seriously).

As it turns out, Mary is already well-aware of their little adventure to the park, having heard about their fight with Alistair from his mom. Dean isn't allowed out of the house for two weeks, which he, personally, thinks is a little overboard, but he likes living, so he never says as much to his dad. But really, how is he ever supposed to find a new friend under these conditions?

When Dean is finally released from house arrest, Charlie is on vacation with her family, so Dean is still left to play by himself. He wants to tell his dad that if he'd never been punished he could have already found a new friend to be playing with, but yet again, he still likes living, so he doesn't.

Four days into Charlie's vacation and sixteen days into Dean's isolation-induced madness, Dean finally gets the opportunity to continue the quest for a prince.

It's the middle of the week, so it's just Mary and the two boys until 5:30. Sam is being particularly vocal and fussy, so Dean takes the opportunity to endlessly pester his mother about the park until, finally, in complete exasperation, she shouts, "Yes! Fine! Just go!" Sammy starts crying even louder at her yelling, but Dean bolts out the door too quickly to even care. Besides, that's his mother's problem, not his.

The park is mostly empty due to it being the end of summer. Most families are getting in their last trip of the season. Still, there are a couple of other children milling around, but Dean already knows most of them, and he already knows he doesn't like them. So, he ambles through the park aimlessly because it's still better than being at home.

There's some monkey bars at the back of the park, but hardly anyone plays on them anymore since they put in the new jungle gym last year. Dean heads to them anyway because, as much as he wants a new friend, he knows he doesn't want it to be any of the kids he's already seen. He'd much rather be all on his own.

But as it turns out, there actually is someone at the old monkey bars, and, as luck would have it, it's a kid Dean's never seen before. At the top of the monkey bars sits a small boy with clothes too big for him, a messy mop of black hair, and the brightest blue eyes Dean has ever seen (even bluer than Sammy's when they brought him home from the hospital). If this kid isn't a prince, Dean certainly doesn't know who is, so he quickly scrambles up the bars to sit next to him.

The boy doesn't acknowledge Dean at all, still just watching his feet as they kick back and forth. But Dean is nothing if not persistent.

So, he lifts himself over to sit in front of the boy, jostling their legs together until the boy finally looks up at him with impossibly wide blue eyes. Dean flashes him a wide grin.

"Hey! I'm Dean!" he says, extending his hand out . The other boy just glances at it quizzically.

Dean's smile deflates some, and when the boy looks back up at him, his brow is drawn together in confusion.

"What's your name?" Dean prompts, hand falling back to his side.

The boy stares at him a little longer, head tilted to the side, looking kind of like the puppy Jo had insisted Uncle Bobby get for her, before answering, "Castiel."

This time it's Dean's turn to look confused. It's an odd name, and feels a little beyond his four year old capabilities, so he says, "It's cool if I call you 'Cas,' right?"

Castiel looks a little startled, but nods slowly. Dean's grin boosts back up to full power.

"Awesome!" he says as he hops back over to beside Castiel, swinging an arm around his tiny shoulders. "So! You and I are friends now." And he really hopes just saying it makes it true because he's not sure what else to do. He's never had any other friends besides Charlie, but they've been together since they were babies, so it doesn't really count.

It seems to work, though, because Cas gives him the smallest of smiles in return. But as small as it is, it lights up his eyes brighter than Christmas, and it sends butterflies fluttering through Dean's stomach, giving him a giddy rush from his head down to his toes.

That night at dinner, he excitedly tells his parents about his new friend and begs to be allowed to go to the park tomorrow so he can see him again. Delighted by their son's enthusiasm, they agree. And for the next few days while Charlie is gone, Dean meets Castiel every day at the monkey bars and teaches him how to properly play make-believe.

When Charlie returns, Dean runs to her house first thing, bursting at the seams to tell her about how he'd finally found their prince. She, of course, demands to be taken to him. They plead with Charlie's mom to let them go to the park, turning two sets of full-blown puppy dog eyes on her. With a tired sigh and an amused shake of her head, she agrees. They both run double-time to the far end of the park.

And as always, there's Cas, sitting on top of the monkey bars, idly swinging his legs back and forth. Charlie lets out a small gasp of amazement, while Dean beams proudly.

When Charlie finally gets over her stupor, she leans over and whispers, "Dean, that's not a prince. You found an angel."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel just wishes his friends could all get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written for one of my #fictionfriday prompts over on my tumblr, but it ended up fitting nicely into my When You Were Young!verse, so squeezed it in here. Also, for those of you who are interested in this verse as a whole and are currently unaware, the actual sequel has been started as it called If Angels are Fairytales, Dean is a Prince, so you can check that out also.
> 
> Prompt from pharocomics: Cas and Zachariah are 5-year-olds that wander off from a kindergarten field trip. Chaos ensues as they try to find their way back to the group before everyone goes home.
> 
> Unbeta'd. All mistakes are mine.

Castiel isn't sure just how he got sucked into leaving the rest of class, though he's sure it has much to do with Dean. Or Charlie. Dean or Charlie. That always tends to be the acceptable answer when Castiel is doing something he is sure to get in trouble for.

"I still don't understand why  **he's**  here," Dean grumbles, because for as much as Castiel doesn't understand how he got wrangled into wandering off, Dean seems just as unsure as to why Zachariah Fuller is with them.

"He's my friend, Dean," Castiel patiently reminds him.

Dean snorts, obviously still not liking the turn of events in the least. "I don't see why," he grumbles.

"I don't see why he's friends with you, either," Zachariah shoots off, positively glaring at Dean.

"What did you say!?" Dean shouts, lunging at the fairer haired boy.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Charlie calls out, stepping between the two boys. "Stop it! Both of you!"

Castiel watches helplessly as his two friends bicker. He thinks it is terribly unfair that both boys seem to dislike each other so much. After all, he's never had many friends before moving to Lawrence, never had any friends before that, actually, and now that he has  **three** , he feels that it should only be fair that they all get along. They only ever argue, though, and have even been known to get in physical fights on the playground at school. True, they don't act that way when they're alone with Castiel, such as on the days it's just Dean and Cas (and sometimes Charlie) playing at each other's houses (never Castiel's though) or at the park, or on the days when Castiel and Zachariah play together in church. Castiel is thankful for those times; still, it would be easier if they could get along with each other as well.

The two boys continue yelling at each other, despite Charlie's physical presence between them. Castiel isn't even sure what the fight is about by this point, nor does he care. Instead of rewarding his friends' bad behavior with his attention, he addresses Charlie, "What game will we be playing today?"

Charlie turns to him, smiling brightly, now also choosing to ignore the other two boys. "I'm glad you ask, Cas!" She emphasizes her excitement with a clap of her small hands. "Today, we're on an adventure through a foreign kingdom, searching for a spell to save my kingdom from the clutches of the evil witch, Charlotte."

"For-en?" Dean questions, turning away from his fight with Zachariah. The word is heavy and awkward on his tongue.

Charlie and Castiel are both excellent readers, already quite advanced for only being in kindergarten. Poor Dean just can't keep up sometimes.

"It means different," Castiel explains.

Dean pulls a face. "Why didn't you just say that?"

Zachariah watches them in confusion. "Who is Charlotte?"

"Charlie's mom," Dean and Castiel answer at the same time, already completely used to Charlie's habits of casting her mother as the bad guy in their games of make-believe. By this point, they don't even bother to ask for the reason why.

Zachariah, however, is not around so much as to be in this habit. "Why is your mother the evil witch?"

Charlie scowls. "She took away my computer games for the month."

Zachariah continues staring at her curiously. "But why would she do that?"

"Because Charlie talked back," supplies Cas.

Dean answers, "Because she's addicted."

Charlie glares at the two children who are  **supposed to be**  her friends. "No. It's because she's an evil dictator."

 _Dictator_  is a word that even goes over Castiel's head, but they can all gather that  _dictator_  doesn't mean anything nice considering the context.

"Anyway!" Charlie continues cheerily, as if she hadn't just been forced to defend her honor from her two very best friends in the world. "Zach, since you don't play with us often, I'll catch you up to speed."

"My name is not  _Zach_. It's  _Zachariah_ ," he corrects primly.

"I'm the queen, Dean is my knight, and Castiel is our guardian angel," she tumbles on with her explanation, not even noticing that Zachariah spoke in her focused excitement for all things fantasy. Zachariah pouts at the dismissal, while Dean positively gleams. "What should you be?... Hm..." She places a finger to her chin in thought.

"The unwanted sidekick," Dean suggests unkindly.

Castiel huffs at him.

"No, no," Charlie dismisses, so enraptured in her own spinning ideas that she doesn't even register the suggestion for the mean barb that it is. "I know!" The three boys start with the suddenness of her exclamation. "We never did find a prince before! So! Zach! You can be the prince of this land, helping us so that the threat of the witch doesn't affect your kingdom."

Dean looks livid at her decision, though Cas has no idea why. He thinks it is a good idea and says as much. Zachariah would make a good prince, what with his light hair and pale eyes and his good posture. Castiel's even pretty sure that Zachariah's parents are fairly rich considering the nice suits they wear to church on Sunday services.

"It's decided then!" Charlie shouts, pumping her fist in the air.

The children spend the day running around the farm and surrounding trees, dodging adults of all variety ("They're all under the control of the witch! Her influence is spreading," Charlie whispers as they hide behind a large stack of lumber). By the time the field trip is over and they need to return to the bus, all four of them are worn out and covered in dirt. They're chastised sharply by the teacher and aren't allowed to sit near each other on the bus ride home. Instead, they must each sit with a chaperone. They're told their parents will be called when they get back to the school, but, for Castiel, it was all worth it. Sure, Dean and Zachariah still don't seem to particularly like each other, but under the rule of Queen Charlie, they seem to at least be able to tolerate one another, which is more than he ever thought could happen. Maybe they really had found a magic spell on their journey (though it certainly did have the effect Charlie hoped for, as her mother grounds her for another month when they get home).


	3. Chapter 3

"Mooooommmmm! I don't wannaaaaa!" Dean whines, full on pouting and stomping his foot.

"Dean Jonathan Winchester!" He winces at his mother's use of his full name. "I won't tolerate this behavior! Sam is going with you and you are going to include your brother, and that is final!"

"But Mom!"

"No!" Mary takes a calming breath. "Dean, no. I already spoke to Mrs. Shurley, and she said for both you and Sam to come over, that Castiel is thrilled to have you both over."

"Sammy is just a baby!"

Mary looks disapprovingly down at her son. "And you're acting like one, so that seems pretty fair to me."

"Mom!"

"Dean! This is happening, and if you'd like to continue seeing your friends in the future, I suggest you stop this behavior right now! I have no qualms with grounding you for the foreseeable future!"

Dean finally stops arguing, but continues staring sulkily down at his feet.

Mary shakes her head before turning and yelling up the stairs, "Come on, Sammy! We're going to be late!"

"Thank you for letting them both come over. I just didn't have time to find a sitter with John at work and the station calling me in last minute like this."

Cas's grandmother smiles warmly at the younger woman. "Oh, it's no problem at all. I'm glad to have them both over, and I know Castiel is, too. You go do what you need to, Mary, and the boys will be taken care of while you're gone."

"Thank you again, Grace" Mary says before crouching down to look her sons in the eyes. "Now, you two behave for Ms. Shurly, you hear me? I don't want to get any bad reports when your father or I come to pick you up."

"Yes, ma'am!" the boys chorus.

She looks pointedly at her eldest. "And you better be nice to your brother, or so help me God, Dean Winchester, never mind your father, you will face my wrath. You got that?"

Dean, watching his feet, mumbles something unintelligible.

"What was that?" Mary questions sharply.

Dean begrudgingly looks up into his mother's eyes, sulkily grinding out, "Yes, ma'am."

"Good!" she chirps, dropping the stern act in favor of a smile and ruffling both of her boys' hair before she stands up. "I'll see you both tonight. Love you!" And then she's gone.

Grace Shurly smiles down at both the boys. "Castiel is up in his room. Why don't you two go on up there, and I'll bring you kids some snacks in a little while."

"Thanks, Mrs. Shurley!" And then they're off like a bolt to Cas's room.

Castiel's grandmother's house isn't overly large- a small, two story house on the outskirts of town, recently refinished with vinyl siding to replace the wood that termites had eaten into, but it's warm and cozy. There's only two bedrooms, it being all Grace had needed when she was younger to house herself and her only son, Chuck. It had also been all she could afford as a single mother back in those days, but she felt incredibly proud of it. It is still all she needs now, with only herself and her young grandson living there.

Dean loves coming to Cas's house, as rare a treat as it is (his mom and dad say he can't go over a lot because Mrs. Shurley can't always keep up with a bunch of rowdy children, which Dean thinks is an unfair way to describe him and Charlie). When he does get to come over, Cas's grandmother is always kind and never overbearing. She has the best snacks, too.

And then there's Castiel's room. While Dean's room is rather boring and run of the mill, a typical eight-year-old boy's room with camo and toy soldiers and GI Joe and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles posters, Cas's room is like a fantastical fairytale land, like the ones in the games they and Charlie always play together. It's why Castiel's house has the best make-believe lore they can create.

Cas's room is right up the stairs and just to the left, on the right hand side of the hall. It's the room his father had inhabited when he was younger, but there isn't much left of Chuck in the room now that Cas lives in it, just the books that Chuck writes and sends to Castiel, as though his son should care about a series that is well-beyond his eight years and written by his absent father.

The walls are smattered with postcards from all over the world, all sent by his wayward mother, Becky. It's the only thing Castiel has of his mother, and he cherishes them much more dearly than the Carver Edlund books, because though it has been much longer since he has seen his mother than it has been since he's seen his father, at least he never remembers his mother as passed out, reeking of booze, and forgetting to feed him. Plus the postcards actually bare his mother's real name, a trait his father's books do not share.

The rest of the surfaces are covered in an eclectic collection of whatever else catches Castiel's interest, which given the child's dreamy personality, changes weekly. There are beautiful blown glass bulbs and bottles filled with colorful sands alongside random bird feathers and stones and sea shells he picked up the one time his mother swooped into town to take him to some far away beach. He has a bookshelf filled to the brim with books of all different topics that span all different reading levels. There are the Carver Edlund books, of course, but next to those are things like _Cat in the Hat_  and  _Goodnight Moon_ , and on another shelf is a collection of encyclopedias right next to science fiction novels that Castiel is not yet old enough to understand in their entirety but is excited to read once he can.

There's also a herd of assorted stuffed animals in another corner of the room, across from the foot of his bed. They're all in different states of wear, some brand new and some old and worn, barely any fur left on them or missing eyes, but Cas treats them all with the same reverent respect. His other toys are all put away neatly in a toy box at the foot of his bed.

The room is perfectly Cas, and it's one of Dean's favorite places in the world.

They aren't there an hour before Sam is complaining of being bored, Cas having been absorbed in one of his multitudes of books while Dean played with Cas's collection of pogs.

"Nobody cares, Sammy," Dean grumbles distractedly, quickly followed by a loud "Ouch!" as Castiel, from his place on the bed above Dean, whacks him in the head with his book.

"I'm sorry, Sam. We've been rude. What would you like to play?" Castiel asks while Dean pulls a face as he rubs his head.

"I want to play make-believe with you guys!" Sam explains, a huge, toothy grin spreading across his face that Cas can't help but return with a small smile of his own.

"You're too little for make-believe!" Dean grouses.

Sam rounds on his brother, all tiny, righteous anger. "That's not true! You were younger than me when you and Charlie stared playing!"

"Yeah, well now we play big kid make-believe!" Dean spouts back.

Sammy's bottom lip starts trembling, eyes welling with tears. "That's not fair! You have to play with me! Mommy said!"

" _Mommy said_!" Dean mimics cruelly. "God Sammy, when did you become such a big baby!"

"Dean, stop it!" Cas chastises, and immediately Dean looks at least a little remiss. He glares at Dean until the other boy looks fully remiss and mutters a low, "Sorry Sammy." It is swiftly followed by an even quieter utterance of "Brat," but Castiel still hears it and responds with a swift and disapproving, "Dean!"

"Sorry, sorry!" Dean shouts quickly, fearing another book to the head and the anger of his best friend. Also, maybe he does kinda, sorta, just a little bit feel bad when he notices that Sam's feelings really do look hurt.

"What kind of make-believe game would you like to play, Sam?" Cas asks as he makes his way across the room to the younger Winchester.

Sam screws up his face him thought before responding, "I want to be something awesome, a super hero... Like the Power Puff Girls!"

Dean is immediately groaning. "Dang it, Sammy! That's a girl show!"

"Is not!" Sam shoots back.

"Is too!"

Before the brothers can devolve into a full on Winchester fight, Castiel says quietly, "I don't think it's a girl show..."

Clearly shocked, Dean rounds back on his friend. "What?"

Cheeks tinged pink, Castiel mutters shyly, "It's about children being powerful and standing up for what is right..."

Dean stares mutely, unsure what to say to that, and before he can decide, Sam's excitedly saying, "So you'll play with me!"

"Of course," Castiel replies, cheeks still tinged pink and smiling shyly.

Dean's own cheeks heat up of their own accord, something about his best friend's expression causing an odd fluttering in his stomach. He clears his throat, pointedly ignoring the warmth in his face, and says, "Fine! But we're not calling ourselves the Power Puff Girls! Come up with a better name."

"Easy!" Sam exclaims, once again all toothy grins. "The Chesterpuff Boys!"

Dean pulls a face of horror, while Cas just simply looks confused. "But I'm not a Winchester..."

Sam and Dean both look at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Of course you are!" they both cry simultaneously.

Dean slaps a hand onto Cas's shoulder. "You're an honorary Winchester."

Castiel looks at both of them, lost, before looking back at Dean and smiling happily. "If you both say so."

"Oh, we say so!" says Sam resolutely.

The three boys share a moment of happy silence before Dean removes his hand from Cas's shoulder and claps it against his other one. "So! What are we doing today, Chesterpuff Boys!"

Sam runs over to the large pile of stuffed animals, grabbing an old and faded, grey teddy bear. "Saving the city from..." He looks at the bear and then at Castiel.

"Metatron," replies the older boy helpfully.

Dean raises an eyebrow at him. "That's a really weird name for a bear."

Castiel meets his gaze unwaveringly. "It is the name of the scribe of God."

The two boys continue to have a stare down before Dean finally relents, shaking his head and sighing. "What ever you say, Cas." Quieter, he adds, "Still a weird name for a bear, though."

"Anyway!" Sam announces loudly, once more gaining the attention of the older boys. "We're saving the city from Metatron, who was turned into a GIANT TEDDY BEAR MONSTER and is now destroying Lawrence!"

"Well then!" Dean says, pitching his voice lower and cracking his knuckles. "Chesterpuff Boys, assemble!"

Cas and Sam pump their fists in the air. "Yeah!"


End file.
